McAdam, N.B. Mayor Ken Stannix, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force serving in 2007 for NORAD in Colorado Springs, USA, when he learned that his son Chris had died in the Afghanistan war.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in January that the USA “never needed” NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces in Afghanistan and that the NATO troops there “stayed a little back from the front lines”.
 
Still grieving the loss of his son, killed along with five other Canadian soldiers in their (LAV III) armored vehicle in a roadside bombing near Kandahar City, Stannix calmly, but forcefully, says Trump’s statement “was made out of ignorance’’.
 
Considering that 158 Canadians lost their lives as part of NATO forces in the Afghan War, Donald Trump’s comments are outrageous.
 
Trump received five military service deferments during the Vietnam War: four for education and one for a medical condition known as bone spurs in his heels (these are allegedly caused by a calcium build-up.)

As we try to understand the strange things happening these days in the United States of America, two acclaimed writers may help us – the sometimes-shocking satire of Jonathan Swift and the chilling insights of George Orwell on how dictatorships work.

Back in 1729 Swift made what he called A Modest Proposal, an essay suggesting that poor people in Ireland could ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food to the elite. Swift wrote the essay to highlight the dehumanising approach towards the Irish poor by both the British government and the wealthy local landowners, repeatedly mocking their indifference and exploitative behavior.

His  essay went still further:  "A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout."

Swift’s intent was to shock and shock he did.

George Orwell, whose birth name was Eric Blair, also satirized in his novel 1984 the powers-that-be, with the role of “Big Brother” and the monitoring and control of citizens through telescreens and language which he called Newspeak.

On Jan. 9, Democratic Governor Tim Watz of Minnesota, an experienced educator and former candidate for Vice-President in the 2024 election, cited Orwell’s book 1984. “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears, it was their final, a most essential command.”
In reference to Trump administration’s handling of the shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Waltz said; “The nation is looking to us to hold the line on democracy…hold the line on accountability…hold the line on decency.”

The man, who is known to local police, was escorted out by security to applause. As for Trump, Omar said the U.S. President has “a creepy obsession” with her. 

Following on from Jonathan Swift’s Modest Proposal made 234 years ago, perhaps his radical suggestion could be applied to Donald Trump and his administration in the United States.

Writing in the prestigious U.S. magazine The New Yorker, American writer, Bill McKibbon speculated that the United States could become one of what Prime Minister Mark Carney had described as the world’s “middle powers” and thereby offer the “possibility of a calmer future.”
 
Afterall, McKibbon didn’t note it, but after Carney has reached a deal with China to pause levies on Canadian canola and allowing up to 49,000 electric vehicles into Canada, Trump at first said that was fine.

But after Carney’s now famous speech prompted a standing ovation at Davos and grabbed the attention of the world, Trump had a fit of jealousy and changed his mind about the e-cars.

McKibbon wrote that Carney’s Davos speech “was Canadian in its modesty and in its remarkably tranquil resolve…He made no effort to say, unlike American politicians of all stripes, that his is the greatest country on earth—instead, he described Canada as one of the “middle powers,” neither impoverished nor overpowering.”

McKibbon continued, “Now he has the task of helping organize the rest of the world amid the debris from America’s bewildering decision to set fire to its own house.”

The U.S. ambassador to Canada continued this firestorm by threatening more over-flights of American-made F-35 Fighter Jets above Canada, a thinly veiled threat about Canada thinking about acquiring Swedish-made Saab Gripen fighter jets to complement its existing fleet of F-35’s.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to flood American cities with ICE agents, recently extending those intrusions into the mild-mannered State of Maine, a next-door neighbour of New Brunswick.
 
Citizens like Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Minnesota’s decent, sensitive and redoubtable Governor Tim Waltz continue to stand against these intrusions.

Returning to the satire of Jonathan Swift 234 years ago and Bill McKibbon’s plea today for a calmer more modest U.S.A., we can now launch a 2026 Against the Flow Modest Proposal for what McKibbon called “a southerly Canada, a de-facto eleventh province. Wouldn’t that be calm?” 

 In what will likely be remembered as his “finest hour” Prime minister Mark Carney gave a calm but forceful speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, taking his place as a strong leader of the middle powers of the world.

The impressive position Carney put forward came as U.S. President Donald Trump beat a hasty retreat from his bravado about a military takeover of Greenland and imposing additional tariffs on the European nations who were out of line with his approach.

Critics of Trump observed that the U.S. President took a typical TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) approach, announcing in Davos that he no longer intends to use military force to take over Greenland and will drop his plan to impose the additional tariffs on the eight northern European nations sending small contingents of troops in support of Greenland’s sovereignty.

For his part, Carney told the Forum: “Today, I'll talk about the rupture in the world order, the end of a nice story and the beginning of a brutal reality where geopolitics among the great powers is not subject to any constraints.

“But I also submit to you that other countries, particularly middle powers like Canada, are not powerless. They have the capacity to build a new order that embodies our values, like respect for human rights, sustainable development, solidarity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.”

He quoted the Czech dissident Václav Havel, and later president, who in 1978 wrote an essay called The Power of the Powerless. And in it, he asked a simple question: How did the Soviet system sustain itself?

His answer began with a greengrocer. Every morning, this shopkeeper placed a sign in his window: "Workers of the world, unite!" He doesn't believe it. No one does. But he places the sign anyway to avoid trouble, to signal compliance, to get along.

​The land that Donald Trump covets, GroenLand (Greenland) was named by Viking explorer Erik the Red close to 1,000 years ago. He saw the lush green waters along the southern coast of the massive island, the largest in the world (yes, smaller than Australia which is considered a continent). 

The Inuit name for Greenland is Kalaallit Nunaat, “Land of the People.”

A recent poll of Greenland’s population found that just 6 per cent of Greenlanders are in favour of joining the USA, with 85 per cent against it. U.S. President Trump asserts the USA will own it. In fact, he is willing to pay up to $100,000 per Greenlander to become Americans, surely such an offer would only insult decent people everywhere.

Against the Flow is a new blog that will deal with serious and difficult topics, and occasionally with softer subjects too. It will side with politics that strives to do the right thing, as opposed to favouring quick and easy answers. Rather than practising mere public relations, it will encourage journalism that seeks the truth and explores what is really going on in the community. It will praise political leaders who take responsibility for their words, actions and mistakes. It will show respect for First Nations peoples for their great strengths and for the many injustices they are overcoming. It will salute those who recognize that our planet is both burning up and drowning due to climate change and undertake to fight on behalf of Planet Earth. 

Canada’s first CE0 Prime Minister has confounded First Nations, offended environmentalists, bamboozled some provinces, and called the bluff of the Official Opposition, but he may have found a way to block the path of Western separatists and move the country forward on his projects of “national importance.”

PM Carney appears to have landed on a compromise solution, albeit a very costly one for the Canadian government and taxpayers, to allow Alberta to transport its bitumen to the Pacific coast.

The answer may well be to increase the capacity by about 360,000 barrels per day of the existing Trans-Mountain pipeline bought and paid for by the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau. Already the Trans-Mountain project is costing $34 billion.

 
The NDP government of Premier David Eby of British Columbia appears to view this compromise position as acceptable, and Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta remains the big winner after proudly signing an MOU on moving her province’s oil to the Pacific with P.M. Carney.

Enough First Nations view the expanded existing pipeline as acceptable, the Carney government is no longer insisting on a Northern British Columbia coastal pipeline route, something unacceptable to First Nations on that Northern coast. Unless a private sector owner for the expanded pipeline comes forward, which seems unlikely at this point, the government of Canada will take a substantial financial hit to expand the southern route.

Gaagwiis, the president of the Haida Nation on the Northern coast has said he cannot support a project that could pose "a significant risk to our way of being." The proposed Northern pipeline could result in more tankers in the Hecate Strait near that nation's territory on Haida Gwai.

 "We do want to work together and be partners and find areas of common interest and alignment. Unfortunately, the oil pipeline is not one of those areas," Gaagwiis said.

Rare is the family, anywhere, that is not touched by mental health and addiction issues.

Given that, we say Bravo to the Susan Holt government of New Brunswick for announcing Dec. 1 that a 50-bed adult rehab centre will be operating on the Kingston Peninsula by next summer.

Operating on the principle of “Social Sharing” the centre will be located at Carters Point just north of Saint John. It will cost $6.3 million annually to operate.

That sounds like a lot of money for a cash-strapped province like New Brunswick which has a $549 million operating account deficit for 2025-26. But consider the social cost for individuals and their families of leaving the scourge of mental health, addictions, and homelessness, unaddressed.

There is a difficult situation now in the three largest cities of the province, Saint John, Moncton, and Fredericton, as well as smaller communities like St. Stephen.

The province is partnering with Edgewood Health Network Canada to establish the centre. Edgewood will cover the cost for continued building of the centre, which will include cabins already on the site.

“The new therapeutic community that will be built here will ensure that individuals can receive treatment close to home, at no cost to clients,” said Christina Basedow, Edgewood’s chief operating officer. Edgewood already operates eleven other facilities across Canada, but this would be its first in New Brunswick, according to Basedow. 
 
Premier Holt says the need is great. “It is something we want to address, because at any given time, we have about two hundred people on a waitlist for treatment options…That could mean a wait of up to nine months, Holt said.

There is some “easy-speak” in that analysis because many sufferers are not even putting their names on waiting lists, they are simply suffering in silence. And some, are dying. Much work will have to be done “in the field” with professionals including therapists and social workers to help sufferers develop the will to get help.

 New housing initiatives such as co-op housing or construction of “tiny homes” or community efforts to combat food insecurity can be part of the solution.

The previous provincial government of Premier Blaine Higgs took the approach that addicts must be forced to go into treatment. The Against the Flow blog argued strenuously against that approach.
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We must remember that alcohol is another drug which hurts even more people and their families in the province, and those who have seen alcoholism know that a person must develop the will to be sober before he or she can get on a better path. Even at that, sufferers may well need help to recognize their problem.
​
Addiction is not a new problem, after all, many veterans of wars like World War Two, Korea or Afghanistan came home suffering with various forms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) causing such negative consequences as flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, or domestic violence. Wars like Russia’s war in Ukraine or the war in Gaza are no doubt leaving similar tragic legacies.

Rob McKee, the N.B. Minister responsible for addictions, says the centre will take a group-based approach where residents will live with and support each other through their recovery.

Residents will typically stay four to six months, and the centre will likely be able to serve over one hundred people each year, according to McKee. 

McKee said with the addition of this facility, the province is doubling its capacity for adult live-in treatment. McKee describes it well when he said the new treatment centre will be “a place of healing, recovery and hope.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney has been under fire for leaving British Columbia out of his discussions about an oil pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific, about his lack of consultation with BC. coastal First Nations prior to announcing his MOU with Alberta about the pipeline, and about paying insufficient attention to climate change, and yet, Carney has made a very good choice in bringing Marc Miller back into the federal Cabinet.

Miller, the new minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, is in the mold of a great Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau. He is also a long-time friend of Trudeau’s oldest son Justin, also a long-time Prime Minister. Miller is perfectly fluent in French and English, also speaks Swedish at home, and learned an Indigenous language while serving previously as Minister responsible for Indigenous Affairs.
 
Miller, a lawyer, was educated in the McGill University Faculty of Law as well as the College Jean de Brebuef, University of Montreal. Who could be better qualified to be the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture?

Her resolve and determination are reminiscent of that old hymn:
Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm,
Dare to make it known.

True to her cause to see a new “household model” nursing home and day care centre built in Saint Andrews, Caroline Davies, is obviously a warrior. She has been at this a long time, at least seven years.

Davies has personal experience with the existing “Lodge” in Saint Andrews where a member of her family has been a resident for some time. The current facility is a cramped 53-year-old building with a dedicated staff but lacking the services and amenities of a modern nursing home. 

A large meeting was held Nov. 25 at the Bill O’Neill arena in the town to set out the very comprehensive plans for the “household model” of the project, which must raise $20 million for completion.

The “household model” commonly used in European and Scandinavian countries, and in some provinces in Canada, involves up to twelve individual rooms in a cottage-like unit. This approach is designed to help build a sense of community among the residents and avoid the long, echoing hallway with many doors into separate rooms.

Most people attending the meeting on Tuesday were persons of ‘a certain age.’ There were very few persons who could be described as “young.” There were no children present. Several philanthropists and representatives of well-known foundations attended.

Many people expressed interest in finding out where they “could go” in their later years, when no longer able to remain in their own apartment or house.

Davies noted the importance to so many to remain as long as possible in their own home. She says that she and the others committee members on the project strongly support “aging in place” throughout Charlotte County.